An Inside Look at Nissan’s Latest Bid for Survival

Nissan’s CEO Ivan Espinosa is working hard to save the struggling Japanese carmaker, which faces a $5.6 billion debt repayment wall next year. The company is seeking to raise more than $7 billion from debt and asset sales to keep operations on track, Bloomberg’s exclusive reporting shows. In addition to issuing convertible securities and bonds, including high-yielding US dollar and euro notes, Nissan also plans to take out a £1 billion syndicated loan, guaranteed by UK Export Finance. And it’s seeking to sell part of the stakes it owns in Renault and battery maker AESC, as well as plants in South Africa and Mexico. Sale-and-lease-back plans for its Yokohama headquarters, plus properties it owns in the US, are also on the cards. The automaker’s shares in Tokyo jumped on the news.

Espinosa has said his rescue plan for the ailing automaker can work even without the help of an outside partner. Let’s see if he’s right. The funding proposal doesn’t appear to have been approved by Nissan’s board yet, leaving it unclear whether it will happen. Nissan’s options are narrowing after the collapse earlier this year of talks to join forces with Japanese peer Honda.